The present invention relates generally to water treatment devices, and specifically to such devices used in commercial establishments such as restaurants, hotels, schools, as well as residences, for the treatment of water for drinking directly or for incorporation into beverages.
In commercial establishments, when local water is mixed with beverage ingredients to provide soft drinks and juices, it is common to provide a water treatment system incorporating at least one treatment or filter unit. The feed water is introduced into a filter media, typically including, but not restricted to activated carbon, and/or passed through filter, reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration (NF) membranes. For the purposes of this application, xe2x80x9cfilteringxe2x80x9d will be understood to mean other types of treatment, not restricted to filtering, and filtering and treatment will be used interchangeably. The treatment operation is performed to enhance and standardize the taste of the drinking water as well as beverages made from that water. Some beverage manufacturers require certain levels of treatment in feed water used by formulators of licensed beverage products.
Since these commercial systems typically include at least one filter head which is plumbed into the feed water supply and at least one replaceable filter cartridge or media-containing filter bowl, the system should be installed in a location which is readily accessible to staff members to perform the periodic replacement of the media or cartridge. However, space availability is often a premium in such establishments, which limits the potential location of the treatment systems.
In addition, conventional water treatment systems typically involve multiple filter units connected to each other in series so that the feed water is treated by all units in the system. These systems are usually plumbed using conventional plastic or metal threaded piping, often requiring professional plumbers to install. Modifications or repairs to the system typically must also be performed by such skilled personnel.
Another disadvantage of conventional filter systems of this type is that when the filter heads are connected to the water lines and/or to adjacent filter heads using threaded plastic pipe, as is now common, there is a tendency for the fittings to become over-tightened during installation and/or repair. It is not uncommon for a head or the connector nipples to become cracked during this tightening procedure, which requires the replacement of the entire head and/or the connector fitting. This is an expensive and time-consuming operation. Also, if the crack is undetected, the unit may leak, potentially causing water damage at the facility.
A related disadvantage is that the use of conventional threaded pipe connections requires the system to be mounted in a location that provides sufficient clearance to use a pipe wrench or pliers to remove or replace the heads. This requirement adds another limitation on the placement of the system in an otherwise crowded facility.
Also, manufacturers of such treatment systems often provide a range of systems having different filtering capabilities. Some systems require additional filtering or treatment technologies, including, but not limited to RO units, or irradiation from ultraviolet (UV) sources. To improve manufacturing efficiency, it is desirable to be able to incorporate the range of available treatment technologies into a single head, or into a limited number of head configurations.
Another drawback of conventional filter systems of this type is that relatively expensive stamped metal brackets are often used to mount the system to a wall. These brackets typically include support gussets and machined fastener openings which add to assembly time and cost.
Thus, there is a need for a filter head system which is more efficiently and easily mounted in a facility, and which is easily repaired or replaced. Hopefully such repair can be accomplished without the use of tools. In addition, there is a need for a filter head housing which can optionally accommodate a variety of treatment technologies to increase the versatility of the head.
A first object of the present invention is to provide an improved filter head assembly which is easily mounted to a wall without regard to the clearance of the filter bowl or the need for wrench clearance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved filter head assembly which can be assembled by unskilled personnel, preferably without the use of tools.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved filter head assembly which is installed without using threaded connectors between filter adjacent filter heads.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved filter head assembly incorporating the above-listed objects and in which the head housing is adaptable to include a variety of treatment technologies.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved filter head assembly including the above-listed objects and employing a relatively inexpensive wall mounting bracket.
The above-listed objects are met or exceeded by the present swiveling filter head assembly, which features a filter head housing configured for use in single or multiple filter combinations. A main advantage of the present filter head is that it is swivelable about a horizontal axis typically defined by the supply (inlet) and treated (outlet) water lines. Another feature of the present invention is that, in one embodiment, adjacent heads of the present configuration can be assembled together and placed in sealed fluid communication without the use of tools. If desired, a wall support bracket may be provided, which does involve tools during assembly. Still another feature of the present filter assembly is that the head housing can optionally accommodate supplemental treatment devices, including RO units or UV bulbs, without sacrificing the other advantages or features described above.
More specifically, the present invention provides a filter head assembly for connection to a water line and including at least two filter heads connected to each other for treating water supplied through the water supply line and at least one of the filter heads accommodating a replaceable filter bowl. The assembly includes at least one head housing having an inlet port, an outlet port, a central chamber in fluid communication with the ports and a bowl connection opening in fluid communication with the chamber. Each of the ports is pivotally connected to one of a tubular connector and an end plug fitting so that the head housing can pivot relative to the respective connector and/or fitting.
In another embodiment, a filter head for connecting a supply of raw water to a filter media disposed in a filter bowl includes a head housing having an inlet port, an outlet port, a central chamber in fluid communication with the ports and a bowl connection opening in fluid communication with the chamber. Each of the ports is pivotally connected to an end plug fitting so that the head housing can pivot relative to the respective connector and/or fitting for access to the bowl connection opening. A support is also included and is disposed in operational relationship to each port for supporting the housing on a wall.